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Good news for Jack Johnson

Jack Johnson was expected to be out until after the all-star break, as he recovers from surgery to repair a partially torn labrum in his shoulder, but Johnson’s recovery is going faster than expected and he might return a month ahead of schedule. That could put him in line for a late-December return, but that depends on his continued progress.

There are already talks that upon Johnson’s return, the Kings might be intrigued by a defensive pairing of Johnson and Drew Doughty.

I think Jack + Drew would be very ill advised. Jack has yet to show real responsibility in the defensive zone and would probably hurt Drews development. Pair Jack with Sean and then put Kyle with Drew when he returns.

Anonymous

Rich how long is Quincey’s contract? If its only one year the kings need to re-sign this guy he has been outstanding.

Deano Lombardo

We have Quicey for this year and next year @ $525,000 per then he becomes an RFA. SO we have him for at least three seasons.

1) throw the old first line together and let them sweat it out. If Kopitar needs a reboot, throw him on the wing for a few games. Put Moller between Brown and POS. But really I would go back to last year’s number one line, give them ten games, you know: the LaBarbera Plan.
2) bring up Purcell and Lewis by Xmas. Purcell can take all those top six minutes currently going to Calder. Lewis is super-sound defensively and can take all those third and fourth line minutes currently going to, well, Calder, but also, to a lesser extent, Ivanans and Armstrong and Richardson. (p.s. Lewis is leading Manchester in points right now)
3) Bring up Clune as soon as he’s ready. Agitator. Must have. He will make all the difference in the world. This season? Maybe. Let’s find out.
4) Bring up Bernier to split the last 40 games with Ersberg.
5) Waive or trade Labarbera and Calder. For the record, I’m not against these guys in any profound way. But they’re not going to be here next year, and they’re not doing us any favors this year. There is literally nothing bad that can happen as a result of ditching the two of them ASAP.

And to everyone who is freaking completely out of their minds about how bleak and horrible everything is after eleven games: breathe. Oscar Moller is leading the team in goals scored and is one of the top rookies in the league (and he hasn’t even gotten warmed up yet). Kyle Quincey, who most people here hadn’t even heard of a few weeks ago, is leading the Kings d in points and leading the team in time on ice. Drew Doughty is leading the Kings and all NHL rookies in plus/minus. Wayne Simmonds — a project who many people doubted would ever play in the NHL, is a year or two ahead of even the rosiest predictions, and is playing a very sound defensive game already in his first handful of NHL games; to those of you who are complaining that he’s not scoring enough, or has “disappeared out there,” snap out of it; what he’s doing (shut down minutes against the best players on other teams) is not easy to do, and he’s doing it consistently, at age 20. What else is good? Handzus is earning his paycheck. Our #1 defenseman went down with a long-term injury and our defense got better.

Really, would you rather be 6-4-1 with Derek Armstrong and Kyle Calder leading the team in scoring and Moller and Doughty back in juniors, and Quincey playing for Tampa?

Glass half full.

Will Hutchison

Doughty and Johnson would be a slick pairing indeed. These guys could really eat up the minutes.

What this could do for both of these guys is allow them to get a good jump coming out of the defensive zone with a good pass from their defensive partner. This would really help out against trapping teams.

At this point in either of their careers though, it probably would be best to put them with a veteran, and just try and get each of them to carry the puck into the offensive zone a little more often to break up the traps.

Marc Nathan

Gonna be interesting to see how Murray carves up the defensive minutes when Johnson returns. Gauthier should not be long for this world… Harrold, by that time should be an allstar Right Wing ;)… Who knows what will be done with Preissing, but I would guess there’d be a market for him…

jack handy

well said Deano.

deadcatbounce

The Kings won’t be in the playoffs this season (my prediction before the season started), so I see no reason to rush Jackback. Make sure he’s totally healthy before you even consider putting him back in action!

deadcatbounce – I completely agree with you! No need to rush him back until he’s 100%.

Moondoggie

Quisp – I like your pairings. I think JMFJ and Doughty will make a fine D pairing although I’d probably split them up with O’Donnell & Quincey. However, JMFJ and Doughty should do just fine. Jack is experienced, more so than people give him credit for. It’s not just NHL game minutes we’re talking about here. Same goes for Doughty, he’s playing like he’s been in the league for six years. Doughty is one of the best young defensemen I’ve seen come along in a long time….

Somehow we’ve got to get Sully back on the No. 1 line. He really hasn’t had a chance to play (much) with Kopi and I think that’s what’s missing for both of their games. We suffered through these ongoing line changes with Crow; one bad night and everything is jumbled. Honestly, the Kings are not playing badly at all, they’ve just gotten bad bounces of late and eventually those will even out. All of their losses except for Vancouver have been close games. I honestly believe LA is going to be fine and I’d still prefer watching this team than last years team or the team the year before. Our kids are doing well, that’s all I ask for, progress.

“The Iceberg”, love that name. Let him play. I think Ersberg has got to have a chance, he’s done far better than Lababs and really deserves his shot now. Bernier just isn’t ready yet, same for Quick. Their stats at Manchester are awful, more time, a lot more time is needed.

I do hate all the loosing but like I said, it’s not like the Kings are getting blown out, they’re not. Again, last night could have been an LA victory. The penalty on Simmonds was, well, a hook, well sort of. I hate it when the refs call the games that close but cmon, I’m talking barely and in a 0-0 game late in the 3rd? You’ve got to let that one go, it wasn’t that close. Naturally, the penalty carries over to the OT where the Kings are now playing a tough to defend against 4 on 3, the rest is history. Like I said, their losses have all been close, actually except for Vancouver they’ve been in every game. Again, patience, good things are headed our way.

Go LA!

Goon Squad

Just take the extra month, Jack. You’re gonna come back too soon, reinjure it in your first game back and render yourself useless for the rest of this season and half of next. This is where the team has to prevent a kid from being stupid.

Jacks My Favorite Playerr!!

I am truly excited for Jacks Return.
FInding out that he’s recovering fast and
maybe be back sooner then the all star break made my day.
Doughty and Johnson would be good together,
however if they are two of our better defenders should we
use them on seperate lines so we balance out the shifts?
either way I am highly looking forward to see Jack kick
some ass back there again!

Who is behind Inside the Kings blog?

Elliott Teaford is an award-winning hockey reporter based in Southern California and witnessed the L.A. Kings win the Stanley Cup in 2012 and in '14. He grew up playing outdoors on the streets of Philadelphia. He also watched the Flyers bully their way to consecutive Stanley Cups in the 1970s, and makes no excuses for their quasi-legal play.

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